Bandera del Paraíso Hand Embellished Giclee

18"x24" giclee on canvas, hand embellished for a one of a kind piece of art. Each piece has over 10 hours of hand embellishing using acrylic paint and metallic gold paint. You can choose your own frame- I have a black float frame, a white float frame or a locally made wood frame in a Walnut finish.

As a non native resident of Puerto Rico I believe it is very important to learn about the complex history from long before we arrived. A past with much pain, struggle and… resilient beauty. I make art in an attempt to understand some of this history better myself and paint the beauty that I see in everyday life around me.

The Puerto Rican flag was designed in 1895 to promote Puerto Rican Independence from Spain. The red stripes representing the blood from the warriors, the white stripes symbolizing peace after gaining independence, the light blue triangle representing the blue sky and the Caribbean Sea, the white star- the island. Later the blue of the flag was changed to a darker blue to mirror the blue of the American flag. 

When Puerto Rico became an American territory the flag was outlawed. For a period of time Puerto Ricans were imprisoned (by the US government) for flying their flag and supporting independence up until 1952…
 
In my artistic interpretation of the flag the white portions represent the beautiful culture and history of the island. The red stripes representing the resilient land that blooms and nourishes our minds and bodies. The blue representing the ocean that surrounds us. I specifically chose the lighter turquoise blue of the first flag because I prefer the original narrative.